Construction Safety


Revised Shipyard Guidance Document Addresses PPE Payment, CrVI Levels

In addition, the standard's Fire Protection in Shipyard Employment subpart includes sections on implementing a fire safety plan, fire watches, and fire response. Hexavalent chromium has been added to the list of air contaminants whose concentrations should not exceed stated exposure levels.

Workplace Injuries Rise Following Daylight Savings Change

Using U.S. Department of Labor and Mine Safety and Health Administration data, Christopher Barnes and David Wagner, both doctoral candidates studying industrial and organizational psychology at Michigan State University, found that the number of workplace accidents spikes after Daylight Savings Time changes every March.

OSHA Fines Two Contractors $175,000 Following Construction Collapse, Injuries

OSHA is proposing $175,000 in penalties against W.G. Yates & Sons Construction and Spectrum Concrete Services following the November 2008 collapse of a wood shoring system at Jeff Anderson Regional Medical Center's medical towers addition in Meridian, Miss.

OSHA Partners with National Association of Women in Construction

In addition to working with OSHA to develop training resources designed to prevent exposure to construction hazards, NAWIC-Chapter 96 said it will enhance the promotion of construction safety and health education to area youth through its Annual Block Kids Program.

OSHA Cites Utility Company for Potential Trenching Hazards

The alleged failure to protect its employees from potential trenching and excavation hazards has brought H & H Plumbing & Utilities Inc. $46,200 in proposed penalties from OSHA following an inspection at the company's worksite in Edmond.

OSHA Cites Contractor after Workers Overcome at Worksite

OSHA has cited a Cambridge, Mass., contractor for alleged willful and serious violations of safety and health standards after three of its employees were overcome by lack of oxygen on Oct. 20, 2008, while cleaning underground steam pipes on the Boston College campus in Newton, Mass. Thomas G. Gallagher Inc. faces a total of $71,000 in proposed fines.

a highway tunnel photo from FHWAs "Public Roads" magazine

Acoustic Detectives Find Signatures of Loosening Bolts

The Boise State University team's leader foresees installed accelerometers that continuously monitor bolts in locations such as a highway tunnel, depicted here in a photo from FHWA's "Public Roads" magazine.



U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis

Lean Rulemaking Agenda Lists July Diacetyl Milestone

The biggest news in U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis' first semiannual regulatory agenda is no news: Nothing big was promised, just a little forward progress on long-awaited rules.

two workers direct a concrete pour

ASTM Developing Better Test for Concrete Conductivity

It could replace destructive testing that now takes much longer. Bulk conductivity is useful for designing cathodic protection systems and for concrete used in stray voltage applications.

Report: Half of Engineering, Environmental Firms Conducted Layoffs in '08

"There's obviously a lot more to the story behind these numbers, but the short version is that the red ink many of us had been expecting to see across the industry seems to have been largely avoided," says Ian Rusk, ZweigWhite president and financial consultant.

Safety Pact Signed for Scott Air Force Base Construction Project

The $93.6 million, 180,000 square-foot building project will house the U.S. Transportation Command, the U.S. Army Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command, and the Defense Intelligence Agency, and is expected to be completed in the summer of 2010.

Abigail Helsers winning poster entry, "Its Time for Safety"

NAOSH Week Gets Underway Today

The annual seven-day event will be observed in multiple countries and will include the awarding of the annual "safety-on-the-job" children's poster contest winners, one of whom is Abigail Helser, 8, of Portage, Wis., whose work is shown here.

Steel Research Center Attains Star Status

The facility, which uses the latest technology to research and develop new steel production, processes, and methods, sometimes while working in high-temperature and gaseous environments, was honored for maintaining high employee health and safety standards.

Fall, Scaffold, Ladder, Related Hazards Add Up to $79,000 Fine for Roofer

"It takes only one slip or misstep to turn a construction site into an accident scene," said Paul Mangiafico, OSHA's area director for Middlesex and Essex (Massachusetts) counties.

ODNR Opens Mine Safety Training Center in Cadiz

The new facility will provide life-saving training for Ohio miners, local first-responders, and others who conduct business in and around mines, the agency says.

Selecting Respirators for Hex Chrome Exposures

On Feb. 23, 2009, a federal appeals court resolved the final challenges to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Hexavalent Chromium (CrVI) Standard that was promulgated in February 2006. The last challenge argued to lower the permissible exposure limit (PEL) to 1 μg/m3 from 5 μg/m3. This appeal was denied, and OSHA’s PEL was upheld by the court.

Virtual Task Forks

Every year in the United States, nearly 100 workers are killed in forklift-related incidents and, according to OSHA, "tens of thousands" more are injured. Truck tipovers are the leading cause of the fatalities, followed by workers being crushed between a vehicle and a surface.

Work Zones in High Gear

The 10th annual National Work Zone Awareness week was held April 6-10, 2009, with "Drive to Survive—Our Future is Riding On It!" serving as the week's theme. The national kickoff took place April 7 on the George Washington Parkway near a bridge replacement project between Washington, D.C. and Virginia, a fitting location given the federal government's stimulus of infrastructure projects this year. More money brings more work zones, more (temporary) congestion, and more risk.

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